Series on Shanghai revolutionary sites airs

A new 10-part documentary series featuring Shanghai's revolutionary heritage premiered on Tuesday, telling the city's rich Communist Party history through first-person storytelling and artificial intelligence technology.

The micro-documentary series, titled Tellings of History, aims to showcase the city's revolutionary cultural heritage through short, engaging episodes ranging from three to five minutes. Each episode focuses on significant historical landmarks that played crucial roles in the founding and early development of the Communist Party of China.

The series adopts a unique narrative approach and gives voice to historical figures, artifacts, and locations with distinct narrative perspectives.

Historical figures would narrate their personal experiences in first-person accounts. Revolutionary artifacts are personified to convey the power of faith and preservation behind them, while historical locations serve as storytellers, weaving together significant events and historical figures.

It also aims to spotlight the specific event and critical moments, while transforming static exhibitions into dynamic stories that could resonate with younger audiences, according to the production team.

The series incorporates various artistic elements and digital technologies to enhance viewer engagement. 2D animations combined with real scenes and woodblock prints create distinctive visual styles for different stories.

Notably, the production team has employed AI-generated content technology to reconstruct disappeared historical sites like the Huishan wharf and animate historical figures known only through photographs.

The documentary is aired weekly on Tuesday evenings on Dragon TV's documentary segment, and will be simultaneously released on multiple digital platforms including Kan Dongfang app, Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, and WeChat channels.